The Dutchman endured a brutal crash on the fifth lap of the muddy 2600m cyclocross race on Saturday afternoon but managed to continue.
Some couldn’t help but compare the courage of cyclocross athletes to footballers, with one fan joking, ‘They should make overpaid footballers, diving around like they’ve been hit by snipers, watch this!’.
The dramatic and painful manoeuvre stunned commentators, with one Eurosport announcer exclaiming, ‘Did he just pop his shoulder back in?’.
A third added, ‘Honestly can’t get my head around what I’ve just watched. That was impressive and scary at the same time. Fair play to him.’
TV footage of the event in Belgium captured the 33-year-old cyclist crouched beside his bike, extending his right arm over the top tube.
This isn’t the first time Van der Haar has used his bike to realign his shoulder during a race. A similar incident occurred last season at the Superprestige Niel.
After the grueling hour-long race, Van der Haar reflected on his rough day, saying: ‘It took a really long time to get it back in. I also crashed, so it really wasn’t my day.’
Cycling star Lars van der Haar shocked spectators by using his bike saddle to forcefully reset his dislocated shoulder during the Superprestige Gullegem Cross
Fans online were in awe of his resilience, with one commenting, ‘He’s definitely done this before.’ Another remarked, ‘It hurts like hell, but when it’s in place, the pain is gone.’
